Living life the French way...

RENOWNED French chef Raymond Blanc is to receive an honorary OBE for his services to the British food industry.

Raymond Blanc was born in Besancon, in the east of France, but has lived in Britain for over 30 years and his restaurant in Oxford, La Manoir, plays host to cookery courses, an organic garden and two Michelin stars.

The honorary OBE, which is granted on the advice of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, has been given to Raymond Blanc for promoting culinary excellence in Britain as well as for raising awareness of the importance of healthy, nutritious food.

You can learn more about Raymond Blanc, including background on his BBC series The Restaurant, via his personal website.

IF you want to be a WWOOFer in France then you might want to check out the World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms website.

The international organisation has a strong presence in France and offers people the chance to hook up with more than 300 organic and ecologically aware farms spread across the country.

There is a membership fee of €15 for which you receive details of the farms that are open to volunteers, there is no age limit and it could provide an interesting way to discover those hidden corners of France.

AN interview featuring Republican presidential candidate John McCain lying in a hospital bed during the Vietnam war has been made available by the national media archive, l’Institut National de l’Audiovisuel (INA).

The four minute, 33 second clip features an interview by French journalist Francois Chalais, undertaken soon after John McCain was shot down over Hanoi on October 25, 1967 and shows him unshaven and visibly shaken as he talks about his family.

The short clip forms part of a programme that was originally broadcast in January 1968, and INA has said the interview with John McCain will only be available for a week.

A REGULAR commuter service between Pas de Calais and London has been supported by local organisations in both England and France.

The Daily Telegraph reports that a so-called Transmanche Metro could operate regularly between northern France and Kent, before arriving in London.

It is supported by the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) and its French counterpart, the Prefecture of the Nord Pas de Calais, with both claiming it would improve employment prospects and have economic benefits.

Eurostar has said it is open to seeing other rail operators offer a link between the UK and France, most probably confident in the fact that overall rail use is on the rise.

THE Tour de France 2009 will drop in on six different countries, visit Barcelona and the day before the finish in Paris send competitors up the stunning Mont Ventoux in Provence.

The race will set off from Monaco on July 4 before heading across the south of France to the Pyrenees and spending two days in Spain.

There will be a leap from Tarbes to Limoges before the race heads towards the Jura mountains and then the Alps, with the dramatic Mont Ventoux, at 1,912m, providing the backdrop for the whole race before the Tour ends in Paris on July 26.